


Exhaustion

by RobronSugdenDingle



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, College, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, High School, Hugs, M/M, Napping, Sleep, Sleepy Boys, Sleepy Kisses, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 11:10:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21178454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobronSugdenDingle/pseuds/RobronSugdenDingle
Summary: Robert's an exhausted college student and Aaron is a very persistent boyfriend...





	Exhaustion

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you guys think! Sometimes even a smiley face in the comments will keep an author motivated to keep writing ^.^
> 
> Enjoy this fluffy content between them since Robert's getting an ending he doesnt deserve right now in canon.

  
If Robert had a penny for everytime he had a bad day, it would be one because his bad days never seemed to run out! When did he actually have a good day? He couldn't remember.   
  
College took its toll on him. A diploma for business studies was the goal after all. He didn't need to aim for a qualification in business at a low level since school had done half the work for him, so after passing exams, getting rejected from university and charming his way through an interview, he went for the college higher level in business that lasted a full year. He passed that with flying colours, way too easy he thought.   
  
And then he continued with the course and decided to go for the diploma which lasted a whole two years!  
  
Unfortunately, a course with this high of a level, meant he had no more weekends of chilling out. Booze tasted weird to him, he hadn't drank it in so long and he never ever spent any longer than ten minutes in his own house, opting straight for a bus to hotten and straight into the nearest cafe for some intense studying. The college had a load of pompous assholes who liked to hog the library despite having an hour limit on a computer. And you couldn't eat or drink which sucked because Robert literally couldn't function without an energy drink or a coffee.   
  
His student loans had already started making their way back to the college, his bank account empty everytime he went to check. Rather than asking for money from his own dad (he probably would have been forced to farm for money) he went straight to Aaron, who was messing about on his phone behind the bar and leaned over to pluck it from his hands. Aaron shot up immediately, ready to punch whoever had stolen his phone but when he saw it was only Robert, he smiled.  
  
"Oh hiya. You're back early...lecturer sick?"  
  
"Nah. Obviously I'm here to see my favourite person"  
  
Aaron grinned.  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Yep. Where is Paddy by the way?"  
  
Aaron mumbled an annoyed 'oi' under his breath before laughing and smacked Robert's arm playfully. Robert gave him a quick kiss and handed his phone back to him. Aaron placed it in his pocket and Robert shifted on his feet awkwardly.  
  
"I...actually have something to ask you..."  
  
"Yeah? Is this a back room kind of thing? Or...?"  
  
Robert didn't really want anyone to eavesdrop...  
  
"Back room?"  
  
Aaron nodded and grabbed Robert's hand to pull him through the bar. He stopped Marlon in his tracks since he was on his way to serve people some food and held his free hand up.  
  
"Cover the bar"  
  
Marlon sputtered at the thought of a teenager giving him orders and Aaron narrowed his eyes.  
  
"If you dont, I'll just grass you up to my mum and we'll see what she says...she's already stressed enough with the baby you know..."  
  
"You little-"  
  
"Cheers Marlon!"  
  
And Aaron shut the back room door with a snicker. He turned around, his back firmly pressed against the surface and he cleared his throat.  
  
"Brew?"  
  
"Uhh...no thanks. I...have a favour to ask. You can say no if you want! Just...don't feel like you need to like...say yes because we go out, but-"  
  
Aaron placed both of his hands on Robert's chest, something that calmed him down right away. Since starting college, Robert had experienced panic attacks after panic attacks. The doctors sorted him out with Propranolol and he was fine since.  
  
"Rob, what is it?"  
  
"I need to borrow some money?"  
  
"Umm...how much?"  
  
"A tenner? Just to get me through this week?"  
  
And much to Robert's horror, Aaron laughed.  
  
"You were freaking out over that? It's just a tenner Robert. Look, I'll lie to mum and say I've lost my school money or something, yeah? Here take this..."  
  
He reached into the back pockets of his jeans and handed Robert a warm and crumpled note.  
  
"What's it for anyways?"  
  
"Well you know the cafe i study in? You cant sit in unless you buy summat. It's just coffees for this week and that's it"  
  
Aaron looked at him weirdly and nodded his head to the direction of the bar.  
  
"You know we've actually got a coffee machine don't you? And a cafe?"  
  
The note in Robert's hands made it's way into his jacket pocket and Robert scratched his chin. Prickly with very very fair stubble. He would have to steal his dads razors when he got in later.  
  
"I know, but it's in the same place as those two cavemen. I'd rather not watch a rerun of Fred flintstone and Barney rubble chasing cows about"  
  
"Your insults are so weird...are you late tonight then?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm gonna head over the now. Thank you so much, I'll pay it back I swear. When Andy's sleeping, I'll nick a tenner out of his stash"  
  
Aaron's frown clearly said he disapproved and Robert fake groaned.  
  
"Fine. I'll do it when he's awake..."  
  
"Robert!"  
  
.......  
  
"Mum, I've lost my school money..."  
  
"What?! Aaron!"  
  
"It was an accident!"  
  
Paddy scoffed so loud that baby Eve flinched in Chas's arms.   
  
"So if me and your mum were to smell your breath, you wouldn't be smoking again?"  
  
"Smell my breath all you want cause I ain't smoked! Besides...Robert never shut up about all that health crap when I was smoking. Cant be arsed listening to another one of his lectures..."  
  
Chas hummed, her 'I'm not sure if I believe you but I cant be bothered' hum and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Pads, give him a tenner will you? And you, if I catch you smoking, you're getting cut down to a fiver a week!"  
  
Aaron did a mini fist pump as soon as he left the room, brand new tenner in his hands.  
  
......  
  
2 weeks later...  
  
Robert made sure to down two Propranolol straight after his classes had finished and he hopped straight on a bus on the journey to Hotten. He rushed his coffee order and didn't fully relax until he was sat down at a table meant to seat four people and he laid out all his papers. His laptop was open in front of him, and he reached for his phone to switch off when he saw the text from his boyfriend.  
  
'Dont study too hard. You're annoying when you're moody and tired xx'  
  
'Will do boss xxx'  
  
Another text came through after that, but it wasn't from Aaron. Instead, it was his brother and he frowned instantly at the words in front of him.  
  
'Mate, dad needs help on the farm. Do us a favour and help us out more will you? It's not fair on Dad'  
  
His coffee was placed down on the table and he smiled at the waitress and looked back to his phone. Oh great. Another text.  
  
'By the way, I know it was you who stole my tenner a couple weeks ago ass'  
  
Oh. Insults now? As if! His fingers tapped the screen furiously.  
  
'Oh yeah? Prove it dickhead'  
  
...........  
  
After the whole texting thing, he couldn't focus properly. He was sick of his dad and Andy floating around his brain when they knew, they knew that he was busy with college. He wished he was Aaron's age, in his final year of school, 17 and ready to leave to go to college...here he was, 19 and struggling with studying and was struggling to even afford money for a coffee in a stupid overpriced cafe!  
  
He was struggling with sleep, couldn't remember the last time he had a proper meal other than Chas's fisherman's pie a couple of weeks ago. He couldn't even eat that either, when he found a hair in it and then Eve threw up all over herself and Aaron was complaining at how he was so embarrassed for...some reason.  
  
He managed to push all of the negative thoughts away for nearly a whole hour and actually got a decent amount of studying done when an email popped through his college user and he clicked on it right away. An email from Samantha, a girl in his class who was too lost in her own fairytale world sometimes, but she was smart, very very smart.  
  
'Hi! Sorry to bother you! Lol! Did you see the presentation we need to do for Tuesday? Just wondered if you did your part since you didn't reply to the email. Lol. See you Tuesday! Xxxxx'  
  
Robert wanted to tear his own hair out right there and then. A presentation? He wasn't told about any presentation! Nor did he receive any emails whatsoever!  
  
He double checked, triple checked just to make sure and frowned harder when he saw that he hadn't recieved any emails.   
  
A quick email to his lecturer, and a few minutes later, he had an response back with a massive apology, but the damned lecturer was still demanding the presentation to be done for tuesday.  
  
He ignored Samantha's email, deciding to ignore her despite her not actually being the one to have ignored him in the first place. He was a child like that.  
  
Presentation....the details were in the link attached to the email but he hadn't finished his studying for the upcoming exam...  
  
Five minutes into it and suddenly a loud piercing noise split right through his ears making them ring and his head throb. Everybody around him shot up out of their seats and the workers were rushing about, ushering everybody to pack up their stuff and leave.  
  
Robert was pretty sure that during a fire alarm, you werent supposed to pack, just leave as quick as you can...  
  
So everyone waited outside, desperate to know if they were gonna be allowed back in when a worker stepped out and bowed down slightly. Robert instantly knew what they were gonna say.  
  
"Sorry folks! There's been a bit of an incident..."  
  
Robert didn't stick around to hear about the refunds everybody would get. He walked away right after he had said sorry and waited at the bus stop. Suppose he would have to just...study somewhere else.  
  
He took out his phone again, rereading the message from Aaron and he yawned and stepped on the bus when he arrived. Despite the cold air outside, the bus was insanely hot inside, the windows all fogged up with everybody's mingled breaths and he had to push his forehead against the cold window to cool himself down a bit.  
  
He didn't feel like going home, not when his dad would scream at him for nicking Andy's money again. Not when Andy would try and guilt trip him into helping around the farm. Not when Victoria...well she didn't do anything. She was still a young naive girl in her third year of school who thought she was so unique because she listened to death metal and put eyeliner on the bottom of her eyes too.  
  
Would Aaron mind? He had already bothered him enough...what with lending money and stuff...  
  
He didn't really have time to think about it when the bus stopped in the village and he stepped off. He looked around, yawned once more and headed straight to his boyfriends.   
  
Chas didn't see him come in through the back door because she was knocked out on the couch with the television still playing. Joy's of being a parent to a newborn again. Robert picked up the remote and muted it and draped a blanket over her and walked upstairs to the bathroom where he got changed into his pyjamas (he carried them around incase he didn't feel like going home) and dumped his stuff right there except his phone.  
  
He walked into the bedroom, the lights off and his boyfriend napping in his bed. It was just after seven after all...but then, Aaron did like his naps.  
  
He left his phone on the bedside table and pulled back the covers so he could slide under. Once he did that, Aaron instinctively wrapped himself around him, a leg wedged in between Roberts and a hand under the back of his t-shirt. He blinked himself awake and accidentally pushed his head so forward, his nose bumped against Robert's adam apple.  
  
"Hiya...enjoy studying?"  
  
"Mmm...shtudying is jus...just..."  
  
Aaron looked up when he saw that Robert had fallen asleep and he leaned back to get a better look. Robert looked stressed and tired and just...well exhausted. He traced little circle patterns on Robert's cheek with his thumb and kissed his cheek before drifting off to sleep himself.  
  
Robert napped all through dinner, napped all through evening supper and didn't wake until the next morning. Aaron kissed him as soon as he woke and Robert groaned, his back stiff like a 90 year old when he was actually only 19.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"Six. You slept like crazy Rob..."  
  
"Six? Jesus christ...I need to get a move on then, dont wanna be late"  
  
"Aw, do you have to go in? I dont...inservice day today..."  
  
Robert frowned at him and grabbed his phone as soon as it started to vibrate, only for it to be snatched right out of his hands. Aaron held it to his ear and grinned.  
  
"Hi Samantha...look, Robs unwell so-"  
  
"Wait Aaron! Wai-fuck!"  
  
Robert tangled a foot on the bed sheets, making him trip over...nothing and he ended up lying belly down on the floor. Aaron said his goodbyes and Robert groaned.  
  
"What did you say that for?!"  
  
"You're tired! Rob, you're exhausted and you're not looking after yourself you idiot. So hows about, you rest and recharge yourself and then everything will be better ok?"  
  
He supposed so...he hadn't had a sick day since ever and his lecturers couldn't complain since he had perfect attendance during school and during college...he really needed to get a lot done but-  
  
Aaron pushed his lips against Robert's shutting his silent busy thoughts up and he sighed and glanced at the bed once more.  
  
"Fine. Quick nap and that's it"  
  
"Ok"  
  
They napped and Aaron made sure to mute Robert's phone because his overexcited classmate kept texting him. He couldn't really sleep properly since he wasnt tired, but Robert was exhausted and he always slept better with him in the bed. His mum walked in the room later, holding up Robert's bag with a frown and when she saw the said boy in the bed, Aaron shushed her and she backed off.  
  
Later, when Robert woke from his nap, he snuggled into Aaron and kissed his temple with a smile.  
  
"Thank you...for putting up with me..."  
  
"Idiot...don't really have a choice do I?"  
  
He recieved a lighthearted laugh from Robert.  
  
"Shut up..."  
  
"Go back to sleep then...I'll be here when you wake up..."  
  
"Thank you"

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
